


Pay Forward

by bunnysworld



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, First Meetings, M/M, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-07
Updated: 2019-02-07
Packaged: 2019-10-24 02:02:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17695490
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bunnysworld/pseuds/bunnysworld
Summary: A regular day in the work life of Merlin Emrys, or is it not?





	Pay Forward

Merlin frowned. He wasn't the smallest of men, but if he found the person who put the paper for the copy machine on the top shelf of the storage room, he'd sure kill them. After a bit of hard stretching, he gave up and looked around. Of course, some other idiot had removed the little ladder and he either climbed on a chair now to reach the paper or he'd have to wander into another department to make his copies. He didn't have time for that, so the chair it was. 

"What are you trying to do?" 

Freezing in his tracks, Merlin peeked around. A very, very, very tall man stood behind him and gave him and the chair he had been dragging over, a suspicious look. "Someone stacked the copier paper where nobody can reach it."

"How about a ladder?" While the man said it, he already pushed past Merlin and reached for the paper. "How much do you need?"

"Someone took it elsewhere." Merlin was still trying to process how effortlessly the guy could reach things on the top shelf, he murmured "One will do." 

"Here you go." The man smiled and held the package out to him. 

He had blue eyes and very short blond-ish hair and seemed to contain only of muscles, as Merlin noticed as he took the paper and stammered a "Thanks."

With that, the guy was gone. 

 

After another hour of battling with numbers that someone else had messed up, Merlin knew he wouldn't be able to go on without a tea. So he wandered over to the little kitchenette at the end of their floor and started the kettle. When he had put the hot water over the tea bag, he turned around to get some milk out of the fridge. 

"Watch out!"

Merlin startled when he heard the voice but at the same time saw from the corner o fhis eyes that he hadn't put his mug on a flat surface and it was wobbling and leaning to one side. Everything happened so fast as Merlin jumped back to not get sloshed with the hot tea and the man grabbing the mug and putting it back onto the counter. 

"Whoa."

The tall, blond man nodded. "This could have ended badly."

"If it weren't for you. Thanks."

The man laughed, took some fruit out of the fridge and wandered off.

 

It was late when Merlin left the office and of course, it had to rain now, didn't it? And even more of course, Merlin sure had left his umbrella at home. Grumbling, he burried his hands in the pockets of his winter coat and stood at the entrance of the company building, trying to judge the distance between the bus stop and where he was standing. It wasn't too far away, but it was far enough to get thoroughly wet.

"Where do you need to go?" 

Merlin chuckled. The voice was familiar by now. It was the same tall man who had helped him with the paper this morning and saved him from scalding himself with tea. "How do you do it?"

The man grinned. "How do I do what?"

"How do you manage to show up like a white knight in armour exactly when I got myself into some kind of predicament again?"

Laughing, the bloke shrugged. "Magic?"

Merlin grinned widely. "I like your kind of magic. Actually I was going for the bus stop, but...can I buy you a beer to repay you for your kindness?"

"Don't repay. Pay forward."

Merlin blinked.

"And yes, I would like to go for a drink with you." The man, whose name Merlin didn't even know yet, opened his big umbrella and made in inviting gesture for Merlin to get under.


End file.
